Indie Spotlight – Crest Developer Interview

We had a chance to do a short interview with Patrick Seibert, PR/Community Manager for Eat Create Sleep, creator’s of Crest, and ask a few questions about what sets the game apart, and the challenges involved in indie development.

Crest is new game releasing in the god simulator genre where players can only interact with their followers through commandments. However, these commands are open to interpretation, and might not always go the way the player plans them to.

What is your elevator pitch for players that have never heard of Crest?

Patrick Seibert [PT]: Do you know god games? Well Crest is different, it’s the only literal god game because you interact with your followers solely by writing commandments. But beware, free will leaves these open to interpretation.

What inspired you to get into the god simulation genre?

PT: Crest was primarily inspired by ancient Mesopotamia’s city-states. They had high priests who became kings and eventually started calling themselves gods. We thought this was a fascinating corruption of doctrine-human ambition sidelining compassion and faith. At its core, Crest is an examination of that.

What feature/features do you think set Crest apart from other god sim games currently on the market?

PT: Our indirect core-mechanic of writing commandments in a mad lips style where the outcome of your actions is unforeseeable, is very unique; in the god sim genre especially.

What was the most challenging aspect of Crest‘s development?

PT: Unlike most game studios, because of the systematic nature of Crest, we’ve got many more programmers than graphic artists. Since every little thing in Crest has an influence on everything else, implementing new features has always been a challenge and required lots of balancing afterwards.

What god simulation cross-over title would you like to see (e.g. god-sim Mushroom Kingdom)?

PT: god-sim The Stanley Parable! As a god I’d take the role as the narrator and try to influence the decision of the players – or drive them into madness. :D

What would you rather fight, 1 rancor-sized goomba, or 100 goomba sized rancors? Why?

PT: Easy choice: 1 rancor-sized goomba! It’s got a clear weak spot on the top of it’s head which I should be able to reach through a targeted skydive.

Crest is out now on Steam for $9.99. We’ll have more coverage on the game in the coming weeks. Thanks again to Patrick for taking the time to answer our questions!